Freezing system



May 27, 1924. 1,495,848

VV E.HEXAMER FREEZ ING SYSTEM Filed Dec 8, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 w. E. HEXAMER FREEZING SYSTEM May 27. 1924. 1,495,848

Filed Dec. 8, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented May 27, 1924.

WILLIAM E. nnxamnn, or rHILAnE-LPHIA,rnnNsYLvAnIn.

FREEZING sYs'rE Application filed December 8, 1922. Serial No. 605,596.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM E. HEXA- Man, a citizen of the United States, residing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented a Freezing System, of which the following is a specification.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel form of freezing tank particularly designed to facilitate and insure the filling of the cans allto the same depth and the formation of cakes of ice all having practically identical dimensions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a freezing tank of such construction as will insure the automatic removal of a definite and'constant amount of water from each of a number of cans in the freezing moved containing the impurities originally carried by or entrained in the water in each can.

Another object of my invention is to provide a freezing tank having ice cans of novel construction therein and so arranged as to permit of the convenient delivery of water simultaneouslyto all of the cans, as well as to allow of the discharge of a definite amount of water, from each can during the freezing operation, with aview not only to insuring cakes of uniform dimensions in all of the cans, but also to accomplish the removal of impurities entrained in the water.

These objects and other advantageous ends I attain as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section to some extent diagrammatic, illustrating an ice tank con struoted in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus shown in Flg. 1; r

Fig. 3 is a perspective view illustrating'a.

slightly different form of my invention; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view, illustrating the detail construction of that form of my invention shown in Fig. 8.

In the above drawings, 1 represents a tank of suitable material, form and dimensions, in which are mounted any desired number of metallic ice cans 2. These cans, in one form of my invention, pass through and project above a pan or cover 3 mounted in the upper part of the tank, and forming liquid tight joints with the walls of said tank as well as with the upper ends of said cans.

top surface of the In a typical case the cans, which are preferably rectangular in cross section, have all,

four sides projecting to an equal extent above the bottom of said -pan,for example for a distance of one-half inch, although if desired I may so construct the cans that while their ends project said distance above the pan 3, their long opposite sides project to a greater height. As indicated at 4, these sides are of the same height as the ends of the cans and are preferably spaced apart and rigidly connected by. suitable wooden pieces or separators 15 which extend above the sides 4 of the cans and make liquid tight joints with them and with the adjacent portions ofthe pan.

In any case the pan 3 cooperates with the upwardly projecting edges 5 to provide a container 6 including or formed by a series of conduits or troughs surrounded .or enclosed by the upper portions of the side and end walls of the tank 1. From said conablepoint of delivery and water to be frozen may be delivered to this container through an inlet pipe 8. Brine is supplied through a pipe 9 to the space in the tank 1 surrounding the cans 2 and water or other material for heating the cans to free the icetherefrom may also be delivered and withdrawn through a pipe 10.

Under conditions of use, water delivered to the container 6 from the supply pipe 8 fills all the cans, after rising to such a level that it runs over the edges 5. Since'all of the cans' project to an equal height above the pan 3, obviously all of them are absolutely filled, after which the flow of'water from the pipe 8'is cut off and the valve 11 in the pipe 7 is opened to'permit thedischarge of the surplus water re-, m'aining in the pan.

If now brine or other refrigerant at a low temperature is supplied to the tank, the water in the cans 2 is frozen in the well known manner including the agitation of i ceeds only the pure water is frozen, the impurities which may have been originally present are forced to the top of the can and because of the expansion above noted, are in a large measure automatically discharged with the surplus water into the pan 3, from which the water so supplied flows into the discharge conduit 7.

By this means the greater part of the impurities in the water are automatically removed from the ice in each can and, if it be desired to totally remove said impurities, this is accomplished by withdrawing from each can the small quantity of liquid remaining therein after the great bulk of water has been. frozen. Thereafter a supply of fresh water is delivered to the pan through the pipe and this floods all of the cans, replacing the water withdrawn so that the freezing is continued and completed with practically pure water in the upper parts of the cans. After the completion of the freezing, the brine is withdrawn and heated liquid is supplied to the interior of the tank 1, causing the cakes of ice to be freed from the walls of the cans and permitting said cakes to be withdrawn in the customary manner.

It is particularly to be noted that as a result of the above procedure and use of the apparatus described, all of the cakes of ice have identical dimensions and they are all formed of pure water, lacking the impure feather or top ordinarily found in can ice.

I claim:

1. The combination of a series of ice cans; a trough-like structure adjacent the tops of the cans and associated therewith to receive water from and deliver it to the same; supply means for feeding water to the troughlike structure to fill the cans; outlet means for discharging the surplus water from the said trough-like structure; with means for freezing water in the cans.

2. The combination of a freezing tank; a series of ice cans therein; a container having said cans each projecting for a uniform distance through and above its bottom; and means for delivering water to and discharging it from said container.

3. The combination of a container; 2. series of ice cans extending into said container and each having at least one edge operation.

over which water may flow into or from the container; means for delivering water to the container to fill the cans by flowing over the upper edge or edges of the cans; and means for freezing the water in the cans.

4. The combination of a freezing tank; a series of ice cans therein; a partition extend ing horizontally across the upper part of the tank at a definite distance below the top edges of the cans and coacting with the sides of the tank to provide a container; with means for delivering water to and dlscharging it from said container at Wlll. V

5. The combination of a freezing tank; a.

partition extending horizontally across the upper part of the tank and forming an auxiliary container; a series of ice cans in the tank having their tops projecting through said partition and all having at least one top edge at a definite distance above the top surface of said partition; with means for supplying water to and discharging it from said auxiliary container.

6. The combination of a freezing tank; a series of ice cans arranged in rows therein; and a trough-like structure positioned between the individual rows of cans and associated with the top ends of said cans in position to deliver water to or receive it from operatively associated with the tops of said cans and positioned between the individual rows of cansto receive water overflowing therefrom; with means for freezing water in the cans.

9. The combination of a freezing tank; a series of ice cans arranged in rows therein; means for freezing water in the cans; and a conduit structure associated with the upper portions of the cans and extending between the individual rows of cans to receive water overflowing therefrom during the freezing WILLIAM E. HEXAMER. 

